The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1887-11-23

that needed encouragement. aud he in
tended to give it. but his earliest lectures
and conversations depressed me still
more by the vastness of the knowledge
which he himself possessed. He seemed
TO be talking 10 me from a height 50 great
and Inaccessible that | could never reach
it. | made slow progress, but l made
some.
at happened that never looked into
Shakespeare till the second year of my
study of the law Then / read and re-
read all of the plays until | became ia
miliar with them. 1t was to me almost a
new world. | knew them all so perfect
iy that have not since read them. Mil
ton disappointed me al first. but Paradise
Lost took me like Niagara did. 1t grad
ually filled me with sense of its awful
grandeur Generally literature took me
off from my studies good deal and gave
me some distaste for Blackstone and
Coke, Starkia and Chitty.
ADMITTED To THE BAR.
Before | was 20 | reluctantly yielded
to Mr. Forwards urgent demands. stood
my examination, and was admitted, with
diverse congratulations and compliments
which did not deserve. Mr.. Forward
was member of Congress, and immedi-
ately after my admission went to Wash
ington for the winter, advertising his
business into my hands. You are natur-
ally curious to know how | looked.
can give you no precise idea, but | must
have been very ungiinly. Ny associates
did not venture any remarks to me on
such subject, but later in life many of
them said that while was a student |
seemed To them most awkward and un-
promising, When half-grown boy |
boarded at Captain Webster's, whose
wife watched me with much interest
One evening she sat knitting at the fire
place while l was opposite to her. absorb
ed in the study of my lessons. After Civ
ing me long look she said with a sigh:
We'll, Jere, you may be very good man
some day; hope you will be; but, bless
my soul, yoa never will be hinisoms" ("
You are not to suppose from this that |
was like Ander,on's ugly duck, swan
out of place When admitted TO practice
was what seemed, utterly unfit for the
business | had undertaken to live bv:
and what was worse, knew it and had
a full sense of my Deficiencies Yet Ger
tain extraneous circumstances gave me
full practice at the very beginning.
have already said that Mr. Forward left
his business in nv hands. Ny father
was popular, and his friends thought it
their duty to patronize me. Besides.
had been deputy sheriff and ran that Of
flee entirely alone, whereby | made
some progress in public confidence on my
own account In addition to this | was
prosecuting attorney, which brought me
into general notice.
JOSEPH WILLIAMS.
The Somerset Bar at that time was
very strong one, and Judge Black gives
an account of his leading competitors,
half dozen of whom achieved great rep
utation in publict life. These were
Chauncey Forward "a brother of Walter
Forward, of national repute.l Charles
0yle. otherwise spoon Ogie, who.
Judge Black SAYS, 4" was beyond all COM
parison the greatest political orator of his
day and generation;" Joseph Williams,
afterwari Chief Justice of Iowa, of whom
this is narrated
The next person mentioned az a rival
at the Somerset Bar is Joseph Williams,
afterwari Chief Justice of Iowa. Many
years after they had lived together in
Somerset he called on the Chief Justice
of Pennsylvania at a New York hotel.
Not finding him in he left on his table
the following:
Salutation ofthe Chief Justice of Iowa
To the Chief Justice of Pennsylvania.
''oh Jere. dear Jere, have found yon at last,
Now memory bur,iened with scenes of the past.
Restores me 10 som srset's N ,lntains o { SNOW,
When you were but Jere, aud was bur joe
He is thus described in the autobiogra-
ply, q Joseph Williams had all the ver-
satile accomplishments of the Earl of
Peterboro-
a. In Que revolving man
Was statesman. fiddler soldier and bufioon.
But he was practicing lawyer whose
ready tact was very dangerous TO an OPP
ponent, and he was well up in the books.
After he left Somerset he became Chief
Justice of Iowa, and later he was feder-
al Judge in Kansas He never got over
his fondness for fun, but he performed
his Judicial duties worthily and well, for
he was a sincere lover ofjustice.'
There We're other and minor men men
toned as contestants in the legal arena
Judge Black says:
These are the men whose competition
had to face my seniors and snperiors
in everything that make practical power
How. under the circumstances. | kept
along with full practice and fair success
is a little mysterious. But did not fail
I was not run over | committed no dis
graceful blunders. | was diiigent; per-
severed / improved; | eonscientiously
refused all assistance TO dishonest claims
or false defenses earned character
which gave me influence with Court and
jury, and my clients took my advice with
implicit confidence. At the age of 26
years most Of my seniors had wholly or
partially disappeared from the stage and
! began to have some reputation in other
parts of the State
JUDGE BLACKS LOVE STORY
There were other than legal and busi-
ness associations that attached young
Black to the Forward family. Chauncey
Forward was most fascinating nan
brilliant and instructive in conversation,
polished, kindly and gentle in manner,
handsome and refined in appearance
Young Black became frequent yisitor to
the Forward mansion. Mrs CLAYTON tells
the sequel in this pretty way:
There were eight little Forwards
The oldest was daughter and her name
was Mary. When Mr.. Black, as he was
.lvave called in the Eorwa nj family firsr